The present invention relates to a decorating or graphic transfer system. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a high speed decorating system for label or graphic transfer that accommodates transfer to contoured surfaces and accommodates differences in pitch between the graphic and the receiving surface.
Containers, and particularly bottles, are often decorated with indicia, logos and the like, as well as information such as food stuffs ingredients and nutritional information. The decoration can be provided as a label that is, for example, glued or adhered to the bottle, or as printing applied directly to the bottle.
As to labeling the bottles, this can be done in a number of ways. For example, adhesives can be used to adhere the label (e.g., pressure sensitive labels) directly to the bottle, such as a film-like wrap around label commonly used on 2 liter soda-pop bottles. Other methods include adhering a full, sleeve-like label both to itself and to the bottle. Another method includes wax transfer labels, in which a label is transferred from a web having a wax release layer. The wax transfer labels provide the least degradation over time. In addition, unlike pressure sensitive labels, the wax transfer label does not have to be removed prior to recycling, which is a consideration that is of increasing importance.
Label applicator machines for transferring labels from the carrier web to the bottles have become complex. Due to the increasing demand on manufacturing efficiencies and the attendant costs, many such machines are designed to provide increased throughput with lower labor costs.
In addition, the complexity of bottle profiles has also placed a high demand on the operating equipment. In order to assure that the label properly transfers to the bottle, the bottle contour must be precisely known, and the indexing of the bottle vis-à-vis the label (e.g., an accommodation of the label and bottle pitches) must be made. These steps, however, are found to be difficult to carry out and time intensive.
Accordingly, there is a need for a high speed wax transfer decorating system that accurately maps the profile of a bottle and adjusts the label position and the label web speed to properly apply the label to the bottle. Desirably, such a system also accounts for the change in supply and take-up spool diameters to monitor the quantity of labels remaining on the web to provide indication that the label supply is running low.